Monsters and Critics - Case is "totally unfair," says Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi
Asia-Pacific News
Jul 17, 2009, 12:25 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi feels the junta's latest case against her, which may see her behind bars for five years, is 'totally unfair,' one of her lawyers said Friday.
Suu Kyi stands accused of allowing US national John William Yettaw to swim to her lakeside house-cum-prison on May 3 and stay there uninvited until swimming away on the night of May 5.
She has been accused of breaking the terms of her detention for allowing Yettaw, a member of the Mormon sect who reportedly wanted to warn Suu Kyi of an assassination plot against her, to enter her compound without informing authorities.
Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's legal team, met with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Friday to brief her on the defence's closing argument which will be heard in court on July 24.
Suu Kyi's legal team has argued that Yettaw first tried to contact her in November, last year, to pass over a copy of the Book of Mormon, in an incident that was reported by Suu Kyi to authorities.
'Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi reported to authorities but nobody came into her house and no questions were asked at all about that,' Nyan Win said. 'She said it was totally unfair that government accused her of not cooperating with authorities,' Nyan Win said.
Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, was serving an indefinite detention period in her Yangon family compound when Yettaw performed his swimming feat.
On May 27, Myanmar authorities announced that her six-ear detention had expired. But now she faces a three-to-five-year prison sentence if found guilty of breaking the terms of that detention.
Suu Kyi's trial began in a special court set up in Yangon's notorious Insein Prison on May 11.
Critics have accused the military junta of using the case as a pretext to keep Suu Kyi in jail during a politically sensitive period leading up to a general election planned for next year.
Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention.
Suu Kyi's NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide but has been blocked from power by Myanmar's junta for the past 19 years.
The new trial of Suu Kyi has sparked a chorus of protests from world leaders and even statements of concern from its regional allies in the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
Asia-Pacific News
Jul 17, 2009, 12:25 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi feels the junta's latest case against her, which may see her behind bars for five years, is 'totally unfair,' one of her lawyers said Friday.
Suu Kyi stands accused of allowing US national John William Yettaw to swim to her lakeside house-cum-prison on May 3 and stay there uninvited until swimming away on the night of May 5.
She has been accused of breaking the terms of her detention for allowing Yettaw, a member of the Mormon sect who reportedly wanted to warn Suu Kyi of an assassination plot against her, to enter her compound without informing authorities.
Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's legal team, met with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Friday to brief her on the defence's closing argument which will be heard in court on July 24.
Suu Kyi's legal team has argued that Yettaw first tried to contact her in November, last year, to pass over a copy of the Book of Mormon, in an incident that was reported by Suu Kyi to authorities.
'Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi reported to authorities but nobody came into her house and no questions were asked at all about that,' Nyan Win said. 'She said it was totally unfair that government accused her of not cooperating with authorities,' Nyan Win said.
Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, was serving an indefinite detention period in her Yangon family compound when Yettaw performed his swimming feat.
On May 27, Myanmar authorities announced that her six-ear detention had expired. But now she faces a three-to-five-year prison sentence if found guilty of breaking the terms of that detention.
Suu Kyi's trial began in a special court set up in Yangon's notorious Insein Prison on May 11.
Critics have accused the military junta of using the case as a pretext to keep Suu Kyi in jail during a politically sensitive period leading up to a general election planned for next year.
Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention.
Suu Kyi's NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide but has been blocked from power by Myanmar's junta for the past 19 years.
The new trial of Suu Kyi has sparked a chorus of protests from world leaders and even statements of concern from its regional allies in the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
*****************************************************
Jul 16, 2009
NASDAQ - N Korea, Myanmar Loom Over Asian Security Forum
BANGKOK (AFP)--North Korea's nuclear program and Myanmar's rights record are set to dominate Asia's largest security forum next week, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes her debut at the meeting.
Foreign ministers at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in the Thai resort island of Phuket are also expected to discuss the region's economy and joint action on tackling swine flu.
Thousands of troops and police will throw a ring of steel around the isle for the July 19-23 meeting to prevent a repeat of anti-government protests that forced the abandonment of a separate Asian summit in Thailand in April.
"During the meetings ministers will exchange views on the situation on the Korea peninsula," Thai foreign ministry official Vitavas Srivihok said last week.
But he said North Korea's foreign minister had declined to attend and would instead send an ambassador at large to the meeting of 10 Asean members plus 16 dialogue partners including the U.S., China, Japan and South Korea.
Regional tensions have soared since the North quit six-nation talks on nuclear disarmament and vowed to restart its atomic weapons program in the wake of its recent defiant nuclear test and missile launches.
Foreign ministers from all six parties will be in Phuket except North Korea.
The U.S. State Department has been coy on whether Clinton would meet any North Korean delegates in Phuket, but spokesman Ian Kelly said last week that "I imagine that North Korea will be a topic at the Asean meeting."
Clinton, who leaves Washington for Mumbai on Thursday, will come to Phuket from India. She travelled to Asia in February on her first trip as secretary of state, visiting Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China.
In Phuket, Clinton will hold an unprecedented three-way meeting with her counterparts from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to discuss health and environmental issues concerning the Mekong river.
The forum will also face the perennial challenge of military-ruled Myanmar, which has sparked international outrage by putting pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on trial over an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house.
Myanmar, Asean's most troublesome member since joining the bloc in 1997, showed its defiance earlier this month by refusing to allow U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to visit the opposition icon when he visited the country.
Vitavas of the Thai foreign ministry said democratic reform in Myanmar could be raised during the Phuket talks. Myanmar's UN envoy said last week that the ruling junta would release prisoners ahead of elections planned next year.
The regional economy and swine flu could also come up at the Asean Regional Forum, Vitavas said. Thailand now has the largest death toll from the A(H1N1) virus in Asia, with 24 fatalities and more than 4,000 infections.
"We will discuss the pandemic and cooperation among members...there are several countries attending which are affected by the flu," Vitavas said - adding that visiting ministers would be screened for the virus on arrival.
Asean foreign ministers are further set to endorse a final version of the bloc's new human rights body, which has faced criticism for being unable to tackle persistent violators such as Myanmar.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has in recent weeks sought to reassure foreign ministers that the Phuket meeting will not be disrupted by anti- government demonstrators following months of political turmoil.
Thailand said it would deploy a 14,000-strong team for the forum and has announced a complete ban on protests in Phuket during the talks, while also invoking an internal security act for the island and its surrounding waters.
In April, Asian leaders were forced to flee the coastal city of Pattaya when protesters loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the venue. Two days of deadly rioting in Bangkok ensued.
The leaders' summit has now been postponed until October. It was originally due to be held last December but was repeatedly delayed and moved because of ongoing political turmoil in Thailand.
NASDAQ - N Korea, Myanmar Loom Over Asian Security Forum
BANGKOK (AFP)--North Korea's nuclear program and Myanmar's rights record are set to dominate Asia's largest security forum next week, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes her debut at the meeting.
Foreign ministers at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in the Thai resort island of Phuket are also expected to discuss the region's economy and joint action on tackling swine flu.
Thousands of troops and police will throw a ring of steel around the isle for the July 19-23 meeting to prevent a repeat of anti-government protests that forced the abandonment of a separate Asian summit in Thailand in April.
"During the meetings ministers will exchange views on the situation on the Korea peninsula," Thai foreign ministry official Vitavas Srivihok said last week.
But he said North Korea's foreign minister had declined to attend and would instead send an ambassador at large to the meeting of 10 Asean members plus 16 dialogue partners including the U.S., China, Japan and South Korea.
Regional tensions have soared since the North quit six-nation talks on nuclear disarmament and vowed to restart its atomic weapons program in the wake of its recent defiant nuclear test and missile launches.
Foreign ministers from all six parties will be in Phuket except North Korea.
The U.S. State Department has been coy on whether Clinton would meet any North Korean delegates in Phuket, but spokesman Ian Kelly said last week that "I imagine that North Korea will be a topic at the Asean meeting."
Clinton, who leaves Washington for Mumbai on Thursday, will come to Phuket from India. She travelled to Asia in February on her first trip as secretary of state, visiting Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China.
In Phuket, Clinton will hold an unprecedented three-way meeting with her counterparts from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to discuss health and environmental issues concerning the Mekong river.
The forum will also face the perennial challenge of military-ruled Myanmar, which has sparked international outrage by putting pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on trial over an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house.
Myanmar, Asean's most troublesome member since joining the bloc in 1997, showed its defiance earlier this month by refusing to allow U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to visit the opposition icon when he visited the country.
Vitavas of the Thai foreign ministry said democratic reform in Myanmar could be raised during the Phuket talks. Myanmar's UN envoy said last week that the ruling junta would release prisoners ahead of elections planned next year.
The regional economy and swine flu could also come up at the Asean Regional Forum, Vitavas said. Thailand now has the largest death toll from the A(H1N1) virus in Asia, with 24 fatalities and more than 4,000 infections.
"We will discuss the pandemic and cooperation among members...there are several countries attending which are affected by the flu," Vitavas said - adding that visiting ministers would be screened for the virus on arrival.
Asean foreign ministers are further set to endorse a final version of the bloc's new human rights body, which has faced criticism for being unable to tackle persistent violators such as Myanmar.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has in recent weeks sought to reassure foreign ministers that the Phuket meeting will not be disrupted by anti- government demonstrators following months of political turmoil.
Thailand said it would deploy a 14,000-strong team for the forum and has announced a complete ban on protests in Phuket during the talks, while also invoking an internal security act for the island and its surrounding waters.
In April, Asian leaders were forced to flee the coastal city of Pattaya when protesters loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the venue. Two days of deadly rioting in Bangkok ensued.
The leaders' summit has now been postponed until October. It was originally due to be held last December but was repeatedly delayed and moved because of ongoing political turmoil in Thailand.
*****************************************************
Myanmar "VJ" film exposes 2007 protests, crackdown
By Mirja Spernal and Mike Collett-White – Fri Jul 17, 7:09 am ET
LONDON (Reuters) – A film documenting a group of clandestine reporters secretly filming the 2007 street protests in Myanmar and crackdown by the military junta hit cinemas in Britain this week to warm applause from the critics.
"Burma VJ," directed by Denmark's Anders Ostergaard, takes the viewer to the heart of events two years ago which, without the courage of video journalists on the ground taking huge risks, would have gained far less international attention.
Led by "Joshua," the VJs covertly filmed the drama unfolding on the streets.
The demonstrations started in August 2007 as a protest over living standards before attracting the revered Buddhist monkhood and snowballing into the biggest challenge to military rule since a 1988 uprising. At least 31 people were killed.
Often shaky footage of monks parading along roads, and thousands of people leaning from balconies and lining the streets to cheer them, is interspersed with soldiers opening fire on the protesters who flee in terror.
Journalists capture the tension as panicked crowds rush up the stairs of a darkened building to escape the authorities, while Joshua keeps in contact with his team of cameramen on the telephone and frets about their wellbeing.
The journalists smuggled footage to Thailand, from where Joshua, who kept his real name a secret, sent it to Norway, where the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) (www.dvb.no) is based.
DVB is a media outlet based in Norway that aims to provide independent news to people inside Myanmar. It also became an important source of information for international broadcasters in 2007, because foreign media access was so limited.
"I know the risks, but we understand that there has to be somebody to take the risk to break other people's fear," Joshua told Reuters at the British premiere of Burma VJ this week.
"There will be somebody who starts and I decided that I have to be the one to start."
TRAGIC SACRIFICE
Joshua described some of the sacrifices he had made.
"Since I began this job I disconnected with (my family), that's the first thing I had to sacrifice," Joshua said.
"I don't want them to become hostages of the authorities and I don't want to compromise my job with my family. That's why I disconnected with them because maybe they can pressurize my family or harm them to pressurize me to leave my job.
"Sometimes I miss my family. I want to meet them, I miss my old neighborhood, you know everybody in my neighborhood loves me, but I cannot go back to them."
According to media reports, other video journalists in the team are behind bars facing long sentences.
Critics have lauded the courage of Joshua and his "VJs."
"That footage ... is raw and compelling," said the Daily Telegraph. "The story of how it was sneaked out is worthy of the best thrillers. Burma VJ is crucial testament to the will of a suffering people to ensure the world does not forget them."
The New York Times, in a review posted in May, agreed.
"Burma VJ is a rich, thought-provoking film not only because of the story it tells, which is by turns inspiring and devastatingly sad, but also because of the perspective it offers on the role that new communications technologies can play in political change," the newspaper said.
"The narrative of Burma VJ takes on a somber, elegiac cast, as the potential for freedom flares up and is, in short order, snuffed out."
By Mirja Spernal and Mike Collett-White – Fri Jul 17, 7:09 am ET
LONDON (Reuters) – A film documenting a group of clandestine reporters secretly filming the 2007 street protests in Myanmar and crackdown by the military junta hit cinemas in Britain this week to warm applause from the critics.
"Burma VJ," directed by Denmark's Anders Ostergaard, takes the viewer to the heart of events two years ago which, without the courage of video journalists on the ground taking huge risks, would have gained far less international attention.
Led by "Joshua," the VJs covertly filmed the drama unfolding on the streets.
The demonstrations started in August 2007 as a protest over living standards before attracting the revered Buddhist monkhood and snowballing into the biggest challenge to military rule since a 1988 uprising. At least 31 people were killed.
Often shaky footage of monks parading along roads, and thousands of people leaning from balconies and lining the streets to cheer them, is interspersed with soldiers opening fire on the protesters who flee in terror.
Journalists capture the tension as panicked crowds rush up the stairs of a darkened building to escape the authorities, while Joshua keeps in contact with his team of cameramen on the telephone and frets about their wellbeing.
The journalists smuggled footage to Thailand, from where Joshua, who kept his real name a secret, sent it to Norway, where the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) (www.dvb.no) is based.
DVB is a media outlet based in Norway that aims to provide independent news to people inside Myanmar. It also became an important source of information for international broadcasters in 2007, because foreign media access was so limited.
"I know the risks, but we understand that there has to be somebody to take the risk to break other people's fear," Joshua told Reuters at the British premiere of Burma VJ this week.
"There will be somebody who starts and I decided that I have to be the one to start."
TRAGIC SACRIFICE
Joshua described some of the sacrifices he had made.
"Since I began this job I disconnected with (my family), that's the first thing I had to sacrifice," Joshua said.
"I don't want them to become hostages of the authorities and I don't want to compromise my job with my family. That's why I disconnected with them because maybe they can pressurize my family or harm them to pressurize me to leave my job.
"Sometimes I miss my family. I want to meet them, I miss my old neighborhood, you know everybody in my neighborhood loves me, but I cannot go back to them."
According to media reports, other video journalists in the team are behind bars facing long sentences.
Critics have lauded the courage of Joshua and his "VJs."
"That footage ... is raw and compelling," said the Daily Telegraph. "The story of how it was sneaked out is worthy of the best thrillers. Burma VJ is crucial testament to the will of a suffering people to ensure the world does not forget them."
The New York Times, in a review posted in May, agreed.
"Burma VJ is a rich, thought-provoking film not only because of the story it tells, which is by turns inspiring and devastatingly sad, but also because of the perspective it offers on the role that new communications technologies can play in political change," the newspaper said.
"The narrative of Burma VJ takes on a somber, elegiac cast, as the potential for freedom flares up and is, in short order, snuffed out."
*****************************************************
China cash boosts Myanmar investment: ministry
AFP – Saturday, July 18
YANGON (AFP) — Foreign investment in Myanmar increased more than fivefold to reach almost one billion dollars last year, as neighboring China pumped money into its mining sector, official statistics showed.
Total foreign investment in the military-ruled nation increased from 172.72 million dollars in the 2007-2008 fiscal year to 985 million dollars in 2008-2009, the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development said.
Myanmar's fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31.
China's investment in mining accounted for 856 million dollars while Russia and Vietnam collectively invested 114 million dollars in the oil and gas sector and Thailand spent 15 million dollars in the hotel and tourism sector, it said.
Myanmar is the subject of sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries because of alleged rights abuses and its long-running detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently on trial.
But the impact of those sanctions has been weakened as neighbours, notably China, spend heavily on Myanmar's natural gas, timber and precious stones. The two countries share a 1,370-mile (2,205-kilometre) border.
AFP – Saturday, July 18
YANGON (AFP) — Foreign investment in Myanmar increased more than fivefold to reach almost one billion dollars last year, as neighboring China pumped money into its mining sector, official statistics showed.
Total foreign investment in the military-ruled nation increased from 172.72 million dollars in the 2007-2008 fiscal year to 985 million dollars in 2008-2009, the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development said.
Myanmar's fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31.
China's investment in mining accounted for 856 million dollars while Russia and Vietnam collectively invested 114 million dollars in the oil and gas sector and Thailand spent 15 million dollars in the hotel and tourism sector, it said.
Myanmar is the subject of sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries because of alleged rights abuses and its long-running detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently on trial.
But the impact of those sanctions has been weakened as neighbours, notably China, spend heavily on Myanmar's natural gas, timber and precious stones. The two countries share a 1,370-mile (2,205-kilometre) border.
*****************************************************
Public release date: 17-Jul-2009
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Eurek Alert - Scientists assess flooding and damage from 2008 Myanmar cyclone Natural disaster killed 138,000
Tropical cyclone Nargis made landfall in the Asian nation of Myanmar on May 2, 2008, causing the worst natural disaster in the country's recorded history – with a death toll that may have exceeded 138,000. In the July 2009 issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers report on a field survey done three months after the disaster to document the extent of the flooding and resulting damage.
The information – which may be the first reliable measurements of cyclone damage in the area – could lead to development of computer models for predicting how future storms may impact the geologically complex Ayeyarwady River delta. Those models could be the basis for planning, construction and education that would dramatically reduce future loss of life.
Among the findings of the study: the cyclone created a storm surge as much as five meters high – topped by two-meter storm waves – that together inundated areas as much as 50 kilometers inland. Fatality rates reached 80 percent in the hardest-hit villages, and an estimated 2.5 million people in the area lived in flood-prone homes less than 10 feet above sea level.
"The recorded high water marks serve as benchmarking for numerical models for the complex hydraulic response of the giant Ayeyarwady delta," noted Hermann M. Fritz, an associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Ongoing numerical simulations will allow us to determine flood zones and vulnerabilities for future cyclone scenarios. Based on those, evacuation scenarios and evaluation plans will be derived in collaboration with international partners and the Myanmar government."
Already, a local non-governmental organization in the nation has developed a cyclone education program to raise awareness among residents, said Fritz, who was the only international scientist leading a team that surveyed 150 kilometers of the country's coastline during a two-week period August 9-23, 2008.
"The aim of our project was to document the extent of the flooding and associated damage in the delta," Fritz explained. "Field surveys in the immediate aftermath of major disasters focus on perishable data, which would otherwise be lost forever – such as infrastructure damage prior to repair and reconstruction."
In the flood zone, for instance, the researchers searched for evidence of water marks on buildings, scars on trees and rafted debris as indicators of the maximum water height.
"Nargis washed away entire settlements, often without leaving a single structure standing, which forced us to focus on evidence left on large trees," added Fritz, who has studied other natural disasters in Asia, Africa and the United States. "High water marks were photographed and located using global positioning system instruments. Transects from the nearest beach or waterway to the high water marks were recorded with a laser range finder."
The survey team documented soil erosion of as much as one meter vertically and more than 100 meters horizontally. Highlighting the loss of land was a golden Buddhist stupa – originally constructed on dry land – that was left 150 meters offshore following the storm. Cyclone Nargis also scoured several drinking water wells, leaving them in the beach surf zone – and depriving survivors of safe water supplies.
While the storm surge and waves weren't unusually high, the impact may have been worsened by the lack of nearby high ground for evacuation and loss of coastal mangrove forests that could have slowed the storm waves, Fritz said. Structures in the area were not built to survive cyclones, and there was no evacuation plan for the area – where people had no previous experience with such storms.
Those finding point to recommendations, including implementation of a cyclone education program, development of flood and vulnerability maps, construction of cyclone-safe buildings to serve as shelters, implementation of an improved warning system, and planning for evacuation, Fritz said. Partial reconstruction of the mangroves that had been removed for agriculture and fuel could also help protect the coastline.
The expedition's itinerary was planned based on unofficial damage reports, physical storm and cyclone track data, satellite imagery, numerical model benchmark requirements and experience gained in surveying other disasters. The group traveled to the country by cargo boat and did most surveying from the vessel.
The research was in part supported by the Pyoe Pin Programme of the Department for International Development in the United Kingdom. The program is also sponsoring detailed modeling and a follow up study being done at Georgia Tech by Fritz and Christopher Blount, one of his doctoral students.
A Category 4 storm, Nargis was the eighth deadliest cyclone recorded worldwide. It is one of seven tropical cyclones generated in the Bay of Bengal that had death tolls in excess of 100,000. With damage estimated at more than $10 billion, the storm is the most destructive ever recorded in the Indian Ocean.
Fritz hopes the work done by the survey team – which also included Swe Thwin of the Myanmar Coastal Conservation Society and Moe Kyaw and Nyein Chan of the Mingalar Myanmar NGO – will ultimately help reduce the human cost of major cyclones.
"In the 21st century with modern communication and all that has been learned about cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, there is no need for 138,000 people to be killed by a storm like this," Fritz said. "With adequate planning, education and shelters, it should be possible to reduce fatality rates from future cyclones by at least one order of magnitude."
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Eurek Alert - Scientists assess flooding and damage from 2008 Myanmar cyclone Natural disaster killed 138,000
Tropical cyclone Nargis made landfall in the Asian nation of Myanmar on May 2, 2008, causing the worst natural disaster in the country's recorded history – with a death toll that may have exceeded 138,000. In the July 2009 issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers report on a field survey done three months after the disaster to document the extent of the flooding and resulting damage.
The information – which may be the first reliable measurements of cyclone damage in the area – could lead to development of computer models for predicting how future storms may impact the geologically complex Ayeyarwady River delta. Those models could be the basis for planning, construction and education that would dramatically reduce future loss of life.
Among the findings of the study: the cyclone created a storm surge as much as five meters high – topped by two-meter storm waves – that together inundated areas as much as 50 kilometers inland. Fatality rates reached 80 percent in the hardest-hit villages, and an estimated 2.5 million people in the area lived in flood-prone homes less than 10 feet above sea level.
"The recorded high water marks serve as benchmarking for numerical models for the complex hydraulic response of the giant Ayeyarwady delta," noted Hermann M. Fritz, an associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Ongoing numerical simulations will allow us to determine flood zones and vulnerabilities for future cyclone scenarios. Based on those, evacuation scenarios and evaluation plans will be derived in collaboration with international partners and the Myanmar government."
Already, a local non-governmental organization in the nation has developed a cyclone education program to raise awareness among residents, said Fritz, who was the only international scientist leading a team that surveyed 150 kilometers of the country's coastline during a two-week period August 9-23, 2008.
"The aim of our project was to document the extent of the flooding and associated damage in the delta," Fritz explained. "Field surveys in the immediate aftermath of major disasters focus on perishable data, which would otherwise be lost forever – such as infrastructure damage prior to repair and reconstruction."
In the flood zone, for instance, the researchers searched for evidence of water marks on buildings, scars on trees and rafted debris as indicators of the maximum water height.
"Nargis washed away entire settlements, often without leaving a single structure standing, which forced us to focus on evidence left on large trees," added Fritz, who has studied other natural disasters in Asia, Africa and the United States. "High water marks were photographed and located using global positioning system instruments. Transects from the nearest beach or waterway to the high water marks were recorded with a laser range finder."
The survey team documented soil erosion of as much as one meter vertically and more than 100 meters horizontally. Highlighting the loss of land was a golden Buddhist stupa – originally constructed on dry land – that was left 150 meters offshore following the storm. Cyclone Nargis also scoured several drinking water wells, leaving them in the beach surf zone – and depriving survivors of safe water supplies.
While the storm surge and waves weren't unusually high, the impact may have been worsened by the lack of nearby high ground for evacuation and loss of coastal mangrove forests that could have slowed the storm waves, Fritz said. Structures in the area were not built to survive cyclones, and there was no evacuation plan for the area – where people had no previous experience with such storms.
Those finding point to recommendations, including implementation of a cyclone education program, development of flood and vulnerability maps, construction of cyclone-safe buildings to serve as shelters, implementation of an improved warning system, and planning for evacuation, Fritz said. Partial reconstruction of the mangroves that had been removed for agriculture and fuel could also help protect the coastline.
The expedition's itinerary was planned based on unofficial damage reports, physical storm and cyclone track data, satellite imagery, numerical model benchmark requirements and experience gained in surveying other disasters. The group traveled to the country by cargo boat and did most surveying from the vessel.
The research was in part supported by the Pyoe Pin Programme of the Department for International Development in the United Kingdom. The program is also sponsoring detailed modeling and a follow up study being done at Georgia Tech by Fritz and Christopher Blount, one of his doctoral students.
A Category 4 storm, Nargis was the eighth deadliest cyclone recorded worldwide. It is one of seven tropical cyclones generated in the Bay of Bengal that had death tolls in excess of 100,000. With damage estimated at more than $10 billion, the storm is the most destructive ever recorded in the Indian Ocean.
Fritz hopes the work done by the survey team – which also included Swe Thwin of the Myanmar Coastal Conservation Society and Moe Kyaw and Nyein Chan of the Mingalar Myanmar NGO – will ultimately help reduce the human cost of major cyclones.
"In the 21st century with modern communication and all that has been learned about cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, there is no need for 138,000 people to be killed by a storm like this," Fritz said. "With adequate planning, education and shelters, it should be possible to reduce fatality rates from future cyclones by at least one order of magnitude."
*****************************************************
07-17-2009 15:48
The Korea Times - Clinton Pays Attention to Asia
By Nehginpao Kipgen
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her second visit to Asia in six months, which began Friday. She will be in India for five days, will spend two days in Thailand and wraps up her trip on July 23.
Though Clinton has visited India several times before, this will be her first visit to the country as secretary of state.
Clinton will first travel to Mumbai, the financial capital of India, before heading on to New Delhi on Sunday. In Mumbai, she is expected to meet with a broad section of Indian society and pay tribute to victims of last year's terrorist attacks in the city.
The chief U.S. diplomat will meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, other government officials, the leader of the opposition, entrepreneurs, scientists and the young.
``The secretary and Minister Krishna will discuss the structure and elements of an enhanced U.S.-India strategic partnership that will enable us to advance solutions to the defining challenges of our time and to enhance global prosperity and stability in the 21st century,'' said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly on July 14.
With the Obama administration intensifying its fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan with millions of dollars being poured into the two countries, the administration does not want to be seen as isolating India. Washington is balancing its actions between the two nuclear rivals.
The simmering tensions between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the strained relations over the dispute in Kashmir make the U.S. South Asia policy delicate.
In his address to the Muslim world from Cairo last month, President Obama missed out the Muslims of South Asia, which has the largest Muslim population after Indonesia. The lingering tension between India and Pakistan is largely along religious lines ― Hindus and Muslims.
As much as Washington needs Islamabad in the fight against Taliban and al-Qaida militants, the participation of New Delhi is also critical in maintaining peace and stability in the region. India is not only the largest democratic country on earth, but also is an emerging economic power, which currently is the 12th largest economy in the world.
Regardless of differing national and security interests, the two largest democracies need each other in times of global challenges, including confronting the global economic crisis and global warming.
Though not specifically mentioned in her itinerary, the U.S. chief diplomat is expected to discuss the issues of Tibet and Myanmar (Burma) during her visit to India. These issues are likely to come up during informal talks or press briefings. India shelters refugees from Myanmar and Tibet.
India has been widely criticized for ignoring the unabated human rights abuses in Myanmar and for not speaking out on the trial of 1991 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
After a five-day stay in India, Clinton will visit Thailand. The secretary of state will hold talks with ``Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromyato to underscore the importance of our alliance and our bilateral relationship,'' Kelly said.
The U.S. top diplomat will lead the U.S. delegation to ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) summit in Phuket, Thailand, from July 22 to 23. The ARF, Asia's main security gathering, will be attended by foreign ministers from the 10 members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations and from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Russia and the European Union.
The summit agenda is likely to center around the North Korean nuclear program. If North Korea participates and cooperates with the forum, this could lead to a path for resumption of the six-party talks.
The United States and the European Union may raise concerns regarding the U.N. secretary general's recent visit to Myanmar and his report to the Security Council on July 13.
The Phuket gathering is a regional forum, but its decisions could have a global impact due to the presence of the entire U.N. Security Council member countries.
Nehginpao Kipgen is a political analyst and general secretary of the U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum.com). He has written numerous analytical articles on the politics of Asia for many leading international newspapers. He can be reached at nehginpao@yahoo.com.
The Korea Times - Clinton Pays Attention to Asia
By Nehginpao Kipgen
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her second visit to Asia in six months, which began Friday. She will be in India for five days, will spend two days in Thailand and wraps up her trip on July 23.
Though Clinton has visited India several times before, this will be her first visit to the country as secretary of state.
Clinton will first travel to Mumbai, the financial capital of India, before heading on to New Delhi on Sunday. In Mumbai, she is expected to meet with a broad section of Indian society and pay tribute to victims of last year's terrorist attacks in the city.
The chief U.S. diplomat will meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna, other government officials, the leader of the opposition, entrepreneurs, scientists and the young.
``The secretary and Minister Krishna will discuss the structure and elements of an enhanced U.S.-India strategic partnership that will enable us to advance solutions to the defining challenges of our time and to enhance global prosperity and stability in the 21st century,'' said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly on July 14.
With the Obama administration intensifying its fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan with millions of dollars being poured into the two countries, the administration does not want to be seen as isolating India. Washington is balancing its actions between the two nuclear rivals.
The simmering tensions between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the strained relations over the dispute in Kashmir make the U.S. South Asia policy delicate.
In his address to the Muslim world from Cairo last month, President Obama missed out the Muslims of South Asia, which has the largest Muslim population after Indonesia. The lingering tension between India and Pakistan is largely along religious lines ― Hindus and Muslims.
As much as Washington needs Islamabad in the fight against Taliban and al-Qaida militants, the participation of New Delhi is also critical in maintaining peace and stability in the region. India is not only the largest democratic country on earth, but also is an emerging economic power, which currently is the 12th largest economy in the world.
Regardless of differing national and security interests, the two largest democracies need each other in times of global challenges, including confronting the global economic crisis and global warming.
Though not specifically mentioned in her itinerary, the U.S. chief diplomat is expected to discuss the issues of Tibet and Myanmar (Burma) during her visit to India. These issues are likely to come up during informal talks or press briefings. India shelters refugees from Myanmar and Tibet.
India has been widely criticized for ignoring the unabated human rights abuses in Myanmar and for not speaking out on the trial of 1991 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
After a five-day stay in India, Clinton will visit Thailand. The secretary of state will hold talks with ``Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromyato to underscore the importance of our alliance and our bilateral relationship,'' Kelly said.
The U.S. top diplomat will lead the U.S. delegation to ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) summit in Phuket, Thailand, from July 22 to 23. The ARF, Asia's main security gathering, will be attended by foreign ministers from the 10 members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations and from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Russia and the European Union.
The summit agenda is likely to center around the North Korean nuclear program. If North Korea participates and cooperates with the forum, this could lead to a path for resumption of the six-party talks.
The United States and the European Union may raise concerns regarding the U.N. secretary general's recent visit to Myanmar and his report to the Security Council on July 13.
The Phuket gathering is a regional forum, but its decisions could have a global impact due to the presence of the entire U.N. Security Council member countries.
Nehginpao Kipgen is a political analyst and general secretary of the U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum.com). He has written numerous analytical articles on the politics of Asia for many leading international newspapers. He can be reached at nehginpao@yahoo.com.
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Flood, tornado hits Myanmar, causing big losses
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-17 11:42:09
YANGON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Flood, triggered by torrential rains, struck Myanmar's Kayin state and Tanintharyi division, and a tornado also swept Ayeyawaddy division early this week, both causing great losses, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.
Some highways and railways in Kayin state were flooded and some households displaced as a result of the torrential rains on Mondayand Tuesday.
The torrential rains also caused landslide in some areas of Kawkareik-Myawaddy road and banks erosion at some bridges on Dawei-Mawlamyine road in Tanintharyi division.
Meanwhile, a tornado hit Ngaputaw, Haigyigyun, Ngwesaung, Bogale and Pyapon in Ayeyawaddy division on Tuesday, destroying some houses and blowing off roofs and walls of some buildings. Six people were injured in the disaster.
Ayeyawaddy division, along with four other states and divisions, was once struck by deadly tropical cyclone Nargis on May 2-3 last year, inflicting the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage.
Moreover, heavy rain caused overflow in Maesai Creek in Tachilek, in eastern part of Shan state.
According to earlier official report, a landslide occurred on July 5 on the right bank of Phakant-Lonkhin road, leading the collapse of some small huts on the bank, killing 24 people and injuring another.
Some houses in Phakant were flooded and the villagers were evacuated.
The continuous torrential rain has overflowed the Uru Creek, washing away 24 houses with 90 others remaining in water.
Meanwhile, two days' continuous rainfall last month had also caused a landslide in Kawthoung, southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi division, leaving four people dead.
The four people, a mother and three children, were killed asleep when a large stone rolling down from a nearby mountain.
In May, heavy rainfall also flooded the northern Mandalay division, leaving one person missing and many other villagers displaced.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-17 11:42:09
YANGON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Flood, triggered by torrential rains, struck Myanmar's Kayin state and Tanintharyi division, and a tornado also swept Ayeyawaddy division early this week, both causing great losses, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.
Some highways and railways in Kayin state were flooded and some households displaced as a result of the torrential rains on Mondayand Tuesday.
The torrential rains also caused landslide in some areas of Kawkareik-Myawaddy road and banks erosion at some bridges on Dawei-Mawlamyine road in Tanintharyi division.
Meanwhile, a tornado hit Ngaputaw, Haigyigyun, Ngwesaung, Bogale and Pyapon in Ayeyawaddy division on Tuesday, destroying some houses and blowing off roofs and walls of some buildings. Six people were injured in the disaster.
Ayeyawaddy division, along with four other states and divisions, was once struck by deadly tropical cyclone Nargis on May 2-3 last year, inflicting the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage.
Moreover, heavy rain caused overflow in Maesai Creek in Tachilek, in eastern part of Shan state.
According to earlier official report, a landslide occurred on July 5 on the right bank of Phakant-Lonkhin road, leading the collapse of some small huts on the bank, killing 24 people and injuring another.
Some houses in Phakant were flooded and the villagers were evacuated.
The continuous torrential rain has overflowed the Uru Creek, washing away 24 houses with 90 others remaining in water.
Meanwhile, two days' continuous rainfall last month had also caused a landslide in Kawthoung, southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi division, leaving four people dead.
The four people, a mother and three children, were killed asleep when a large stone rolling down from a nearby mountain.
In May, heavy rainfall also flooded the northern Mandalay division, leaving one person missing and many other villagers displaced.
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Ministers satisfied with meeting security: ASEAN chief
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-17 21:38:21
BANGKOK, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said on Friday that the ministers from 27 countries who will attend the upcoming regional ministerial and related meetings in Thailand's Phuket resort are satisfied with the security of the venue, Thai News Agency reported.
The 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is scheduled for Friday to next Thursday (July 23) in southern island Phuket.
Surin said that the ministers from the 10 ASEAN members will arrive on Saturday, while the ministers from other countries in the wider Asia-Pacific region will arrive in Phuket for the ARF meeting on Wednesday, July 22.
The ministers from all 27 countries are satisfied with the security measures provided by the Thai security agencies and confident that this will lead to a positive outcome for the negotiations on trade and investment between ASEAN and its dialogue partners, he said.
The security of the meetings has been laid heavy emphasis due to the chaos in mid-April that led to the cancellation of last ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, scheduled for April 10-12 at another Thai resort Pattaya. A flock of anti-government "red-shirts" on April 11 stormed into the venue, in a bid to pressure Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and to dissolve the House.
To avoid reoccurrence of the history, the Thai government has enforced Internal Security Act for the whole Phuket and within a radius of 5 km around the island, forbidding all forms of protest during the two weeks starting from July 10. It also deployed 10,000 military forces in the island for security.
Surin said Thailand has prepared intensified security plans to safeguard the ministers and other participants including reserved planes and optional standby airports in nearby Surat Thani and HatYai in case of untoward incidents.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-17 21:38:21
BANGKOK, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said on Friday that the ministers from 27 countries who will attend the upcoming regional ministerial and related meetings in Thailand's Phuket resort are satisfied with the security of the venue, Thai News Agency reported.
The 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is scheduled for Friday to next Thursday (July 23) in southern island Phuket.
Surin said that the ministers from the 10 ASEAN members will arrive on Saturday, while the ministers from other countries in the wider Asia-Pacific region will arrive in Phuket for the ARF meeting on Wednesday, July 22.
The ministers from all 27 countries are satisfied with the security measures provided by the Thai security agencies and confident that this will lead to a positive outcome for the negotiations on trade and investment between ASEAN and its dialogue partners, he said.
The security of the meetings has been laid heavy emphasis due to the chaos in mid-April that led to the cancellation of last ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, scheduled for April 10-12 at another Thai resort Pattaya. A flock of anti-government "red-shirts" on April 11 stormed into the venue, in a bid to pressure Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and to dissolve the House.
To avoid reoccurrence of the history, the Thai government has enforced Internal Security Act for the whole Phuket and within a radius of 5 km around the island, forbidding all forms of protest during the two weeks starting from July 10. It also deployed 10,000 military forces in the island for security.
Surin said Thailand has prepared intensified security plans to safeguard the ministers and other participants including reserved planes and optional standby airports in nearby Surat Thani and HatYai in case of untoward incidents.
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Influenza A/H1N1 cases rise to 4 in Myanmar
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-17 10:41:40
YANGON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The influenza A/H1N1 cases have risen to four in Myanmar as a 22-year-old woman has been confirmed with the infection in the country, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.
The woman arrived back in Yangon from Thailand last weekend by a Thai Airways flight and was admitted to hospital after falling ill.
The patient's four family members are under quarantine and monitoring, the report said.
The woman was on the same flight of the third patient, a 51-year-old man.
Myanmar reported its first case of flu A/H1N1 on June 27, which involved a 13-year-old girl who came back from Singapore.
The girl has recovered and been discharged from hospital and the second patient will be discharged from hospital soon, according to the report.
So far, the authorities have given medical check up to over 2 million people at airports, ports and border check points and examined those suspicious of having contracted the disease since the outbreak in Mexico on April 28, the report said.
Of the over 15,000 people with symptoms of fever and suspected flu, 6,184 have been free from surveillance after 10 days' period of monitoring and a total of 8,825 people remain under surveillance.
The authorities continue to take preventive measures against the possible spread of the global human flu pandemic, advising all private clinics in the country to report or transfer all flu-suspected patients, who returned from abroad, to local state-run hospitals or health departments for increased surveillance.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-17 10:41:40
YANGON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The influenza A/H1N1 cases have risen to four in Myanmar as a 22-year-old woman has been confirmed with the infection in the country, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.
The woman arrived back in Yangon from Thailand last weekend by a Thai Airways flight and was admitted to hospital after falling ill.
The patient's four family members are under quarantine and monitoring, the report said.
The woman was on the same flight of the third patient, a 51-year-old man.
Myanmar reported its first case of flu A/H1N1 on June 27, which involved a 13-year-old girl who came back from Singapore.
The girl has recovered and been discharged from hospital and the second patient will be discharged from hospital soon, according to the report.
So far, the authorities have given medical check up to over 2 million people at airports, ports and border check points and examined those suspicious of having contracted the disease since the outbreak in Mexico on April 28, the report said.
Of the over 15,000 people with symptoms of fever and suspected flu, 6,184 have been free from surveillance after 10 days' period of monitoring and a total of 8,825 people remain under surveillance.
The authorities continue to take preventive measures against the possible spread of the global human flu pandemic, advising all private clinics in the country to report or transfer all flu-suspected patients, who returned from abroad, to local state-run hospitals or health departments for increased surveillance.
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Inner City Press
UN's North Korea Sanctions Include Kevlar, Staged by US Amid Free Lunch Accusations
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN: News Muse
UNITED NATIONS, July 16 -- Four days after what was said to be its deadline, the UN's North Korea Sanctions Committee on July 16 imposed asset freezes on five companies and five individuals, and prohibited providing North Korea with certain graphite products and, strangely, Kevlar. This last is usually associated with bullet proof vests.
Inner City Press asked the Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Turkey Mr. Fazli Corman, the Acting Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, why Kevlar was on the list. He said it was too technical to answer. Later, Googling, some connections were found.
The star of the stakeout was Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu, who called it a historic day. Inner City Press asked if there had been any discussion of taking action on banks which might enable North Korea's arms trade or program, such as the bank in Malaysia regarding which the U.S. reportedly recently contacted Kuala Lumpur. Takasu replied that all banks -- "not only in Malaysia" -- have a duty of not assisting Pyongyang's programs.
Several journalists asked Takasu about the Kang Nam 1 ship which left North Korea, reportedly for Myanmar, then turned back. One reporter yelled, what was on it? I am not comfortable discussing that in public, Takasu answered. Undeterred, Inner City Press asked if Takasu thought or knew it was heading for Myanmar. Takasu did not answer.
While the Committee met in the UN's basement, this Q & A took place upstairs before UN TV camera, in the second floor stakeout in front of the Security Council. Earlier on Thursday, after an ill-attended stakeout by Stephen Rapp, current Special Court for Sierra Leone Prosecutor now nominated for the U.S.'s top war crimes post, a representative of the US Mission to the UN asked UN TV to not take apart its camera, to stay waiting "for an hour."
More than an hour later, the Turkish and Japanese Ambassadors came up to talk, along with at least two US Mission staffers. No one spoke for the US, however. Some wonder if the Obama Administration, eager for dialogue, does not want to be too closely associated, at least on camera, with the the imposition of sanctions. On the other hand, Japan is clearly the most threatened -- except South Korea....
Footnote: in full disclosure, just as the Sanctions Committee meeting was getting out in the UN basement at 1:15 p.m., a meeting began on "applying sustainable development to arms-transfer decisions," complete with free sandwiches.
Several reporters including this one picked up one of the free sandwiches -- roasted red pepper on thick black bread -- but did not attend the arms control event, rather followed Takasu up to the second floor stake out. One US Mission staffer called this "ghetto," and vowed to blog about it. To echo George W. Bush and Pyongyang, on peppers but not Kevlar: bring it on.
UN's North Korea Sanctions Include Kevlar, Staged by US Amid Free Lunch Accusations
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN: News Muse
UNITED NATIONS, July 16 -- Four days after what was said to be its deadline, the UN's North Korea Sanctions Committee on July 16 imposed asset freezes on five companies and five individuals, and prohibited providing North Korea with certain graphite products and, strangely, Kevlar. This last is usually associated with bullet proof vests.
Inner City Press asked the Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Turkey Mr. Fazli Corman, the Acting Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, why Kevlar was on the list. He said it was too technical to answer. Later, Googling, some connections were found.
The star of the stakeout was Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu, who called it a historic day. Inner City Press asked if there had been any discussion of taking action on banks which might enable North Korea's arms trade or program, such as the bank in Malaysia regarding which the U.S. reportedly recently contacted Kuala Lumpur. Takasu replied that all banks -- "not only in Malaysia" -- have a duty of not assisting Pyongyang's programs.
Several journalists asked Takasu about the Kang Nam 1 ship which left North Korea, reportedly for Myanmar, then turned back. One reporter yelled, what was on it? I am not comfortable discussing that in public, Takasu answered. Undeterred, Inner City Press asked if Takasu thought or knew it was heading for Myanmar. Takasu did not answer.
While the Committee met in the UN's basement, this Q & A took place upstairs before UN TV camera, in the second floor stakeout in front of the Security Council. Earlier on Thursday, after an ill-attended stakeout by Stephen Rapp, current Special Court for Sierra Leone Prosecutor now nominated for the U.S.'s top war crimes post, a representative of the US Mission to the UN asked UN TV to not take apart its camera, to stay waiting "for an hour."
More than an hour later, the Turkish and Japanese Ambassadors came up to talk, along with at least two US Mission staffers. No one spoke for the US, however. Some wonder if the Obama Administration, eager for dialogue, does not want to be too closely associated, at least on camera, with the the imposition of sanctions. On the other hand, Japan is clearly the most threatened -- except South Korea....
Footnote: in full disclosure, just as the Sanctions Committee meeting was getting out in the UN basement at 1:15 p.m., a meeting began on "applying sustainable development to arms-transfer decisions," complete with free sandwiches.
Several reporters including this one picked up one of the free sandwiches -- roasted red pepper on thick black bread -- but did not attend the arms control event, rather followed Takasu up to the second floor stake out. One US Mission staffer called this "ghetto," and vowed to blog about it. To echo George W. Bush and Pyongyang, on peppers but not Kevlar: bring it on.
*****************************************************
Bangkok Post - No sign of protesters in Phuket
Published: 17/07/2009 at 02:31 PM
The 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) has begun in Phuket without any sign of a protest.
The meeting began at 9am. Attending the meeting were high-level officials drafting various papers. A large number of Thai and foreign reporters have arrived and registered to cover the meetings.
Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan was scheduled to visit the meeting venue at the Sheraton Grand Laguna Hotel and the press centre at the Laguna Beach Resort Hotel this afternoon.
At least 9 000 soldiers from the First and Fourth Army Regions have been deployed to ensure security.
The AMM and ensuing 16th Asean Regional Forum in Phuket are the first high-level meetings in Thailand since the riots in April, when anti-government protesters stormed the Asean summit venue in Pattaya and forced the cancellation of the meeting.
To prevent a recurrence of the fiasco, the has enforced the Internal Security Act from July 10 to 24, covering the whole of Phuket Island and five kilometers offshore.
Leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship had said earlier that the red-shirts would not protest to disrupt the meetings.
The AMM will be attended by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the European Union and the United States.
Published: 17/07/2009 at 02:31 PM
The 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) has begun in Phuket without any sign of a protest.
The meeting began at 9am. Attending the meeting were high-level officials drafting various papers. A large number of Thai and foreign reporters have arrived and registered to cover the meetings.
Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan was scheduled to visit the meeting venue at the Sheraton Grand Laguna Hotel and the press centre at the Laguna Beach Resort Hotel this afternoon.
At least 9 000 soldiers from the First and Fourth Army Regions have been deployed to ensure security.
The AMM and ensuing 16th Asean Regional Forum in Phuket are the first high-level meetings in Thailand since the riots in April, when anti-government protesters stormed the Asean summit venue in Pattaya and forced the cancellation of the meeting.
To prevent a recurrence of the fiasco, the has enforced the Internal Security Act from July 10 to 24, covering the whole of Phuket Island and five kilometers offshore.
Leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship had said earlier that the red-shirts would not protest to disrupt the meetings.
The AMM will be attended by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the European Union and the United States.
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July 17, 2009 16:08 PM
42nd AMM Kicks Off In Phuket
By D.Arul Rajoo
PHUKET, July 17 (Bernama) -- The deadly attack on two luxury hotels in Indonesia is expected to renew calls for greater regional cooperation to combat terrorism as the 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) kicks off in the Thai resort island of Phuket Friday.
Terrorism, once the favourite agenda on regional meetings after the 9/11 attack in the United States, is not on the official agenda here, but the stunning bombing Friday which killed at least nine people in Jakarta is certain to appear during discussions.
The week-long AMM, the Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) kick off today at the heavily-guarded Sheraton Grande Laguna Resort with the Asean Senior Officials (SOM) beginning the task of drafting the joint statement to be issued by ministers.
Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa is leading the Malaysian delegation at the SOM. Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman is expected will arrive here Sunday.
Thailand, which was forced to abort the East Asian Summit (EAS) in Pattaya last April after anti-government protesters stormed the meeting venue, has invoked the Internal Security Act for two weeks on the island, mobilising 10,000 soldiers and banning all types of demonstrations.
The host is using the Phuket meeting to redeem its battered pride as more than 1,200 delegates from 26 countries and international organisations gather here for a total of 32 meetings.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who is facing terrorism charges with 35 others involved in the blockade of Bangkok's two airports from Nov 25 to Dec 2 last year before he became minister, will chair the meetings despite strong demands for his resignation.
The Thai Foreign Ministry's director of the Asean Affairs Department, Vitavas Srivihok, said United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, making her first trip to this part of the world since taking office early this year, would attend the ARF.
The US will sign the instruments of accession and extension to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, becoming the 26th country to do so, a signal of its commitment to the region which was thought to be neglected during the Bush administration.
The main agenda is human rights and the endorsement of a final report on the terms of reference for the Asean Human Rights Body (AHRB). A high-level panel will submit its final report to the ministers on Sunday.
Another issue on the card is regional cooperation to curb the threat of the Influenza A H1N1 virus that has killed 25 people in Thailand and is spreading fast throughout the world.
Political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said that unlike past ministerial meetings, the AMM in Phuket would be the most critical in the organisation's history as it was taking place on the heels of the delayed Asean Summit last February and the aborted Fourth EAS.
"As the current Asean chair, Thailand's domestic political turmoil has put the 10-member grouping on a bumpy road just as the highly touted but problematic Asean Charter marks its seventh month in force since being promulgated last December," he wrote in the Bangkok Post.
42nd AMM Kicks Off In Phuket
By D.Arul Rajoo
PHUKET, July 17 (Bernama) -- The deadly attack on two luxury hotels in Indonesia is expected to renew calls for greater regional cooperation to combat terrorism as the 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) kicks off in the Thai resort island of Phuket Friday.
Terrorism, once the favourite agenda on regional meetings after the 9/11 attack in the United States, is not on the official agenda here, but the stunning bombing Friday which killed at least nine people in Jakarta is certain to appear during discussions.
The week-long AMM, the Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) kick off today at the heavily-guarded Sheraton Grande Laguna Resort with the Asean Senior Officials (SOM) beginning the task of drafting the joint statement to be issued by ministers.
Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa is leading the Malaysian delegation at the SOM. Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman is expected will arrive here Sunday.
Thailand, which was forced to abort the East Asian Summit (EAS) in Pattaya last April after anti-government protesters stormed the meeting venue, has invoked the Internal Security Act for two weeks on the island, mobilising 10,000 soldiers and banning all types of demonstrations.
The host is using the Phuket meeting to redeem its battered pride as more than 1,200 delegates from 26 countries and international organisations gather here for a total of 32 meetings.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who is facing terrorism charges with 35 others involved in the blockade of Bangkok's two airports from Nov 25 to Dec 2 last year before he became minister, will chair the meetings despite strong demands for his resignation.
The Thai Foreign Ministry's director of the Asean Affairs Department, Vitavas Srivihok, said United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, making her first trip to this part of the world since taking office early this year, would attend the ARF.
The US will sign the instruments of accession and extension to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, becoming the 26th country to do so, a signal of its commitment to the region which was thought to be neglected during the Bush administration.
The main agenda is human rights and the endorsement of a final report on the terms of reference for the Asean Human Rights Body (AHRB). A high-level panel will submit its final report to the ministers on Sunday.
Another issue on the card is regional cooperation to curb the threat of the Influenza A H1N1 virus that has killed 25 people in Thailand and is spreading fast throughout the world.
Political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said that unlike past ministerial meetings, the AMM in Phuket would be the most critical in the organisation's history as it was taking place on the heels of the delayed Asean Summit last February and the aborted Fourth EAS.
"As the current Asean chair, Thailand's domestic political turmoil has put the 10-member grouping on a bumpy road just as the highly touted but problematic Asean Charter marks its seventh month in force since being promulgated last December," he wrote in the Bangkok Post.
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The Taipei Times - Asia wants substance from the Obama administration
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has laid the groundwork. Now it’s up to the president to deliver on US leadership in the region
By Simon Tay - Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009, Page 9
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to travel to Asia again this month to meet foreign ministers at the ASEAN Regional Forum, and to visit India.
On her first Asian trip in February, she provided a welcome contrast to the past with her openness to others’ views, her willingness to cooperate and her star power. She made Asians look at the US anew.
But this trip will be trickier. One challenge is that part of the plot for the US and Clinton is being written by others. North Korea will be on the agenda after conducting its missile tests, as will Myanmar, since its generals persist in prosecuting Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s most famous political detainee, on trivial charges.
After all that has happened in recent weeks, the definition of “success” must be set low. Nothing positive will come from the US condemning these two difficult regimes unilaterally. So a key goal of Clinton’s visit must be to pull together with the Asian leaders present at the ASEAN Regional Forum.
As for Myanmar, its neighbors and fellow ASEAN members — Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand — are also concerned about Suu Kyi’s continued prosecution. The US should begin to work with these countries not only on this matter, but also on the elections that Myanmar military junta has promised for 2010. Together, they should press for assurances of a free and fair process, with the aim of avoiding the kind of mess that followed the Iranian elections.
Indonesia can be one ally. After decades of autocracy, this vast archipelago of a country just concluded a presidential election that has solidified its transition to democracy. India, proud of its long-standing democracy and fresh from its own elections, shares a border with Myanmar and can also assist efforts there.
The approach to North Korea is similar. Kim Jong-il is a naughty boy who wants attention and incentives to behave decently. Rather than debate with her counterparts, Clinton needs to ensure that other countries in the six-party framework, especially China and South Korea, are on the same page as the US.
On both issues, there is little capacity to exert force or sufficient pressure for solutions any time soon. So diplomatic efforts must instead aim to join Americans and like-minded Asians in common cause, to push for steps forward in the medium to longer term. Others must be brought on board, especially the Regional Forum hosts, ASEAN and Thailand.
A moral community should form in Asia, one that displaces its leaders’ usual cynical calculations of power in order to jump on the right bandwagon.
In all this, China is the 800-pound dragon in the room. China is already closer to ASEAN and a key player with respect to Myanmar, North Korea and other sticky issues. A “bamboo” economic zone appears to be emerging, perhaps to replace today’s weakening US-centric trans-Pacific ties.
This is the context for Clinton’s visit to India, as well. Former US president George W. Bush’s administration should be credited for giving overdue recognition to India, but this was done primarily on a bilateral basis. The US should now leverage that relationship to work on regional and even global issues.
Besides her own work, Clinton is likely to also be inundated during this visit with requests concerning President Barack Obama. There is still no confirmation of when Obama will visit Asia, though many expect that he will attend the APEC summit to be held in Singapore in November.
China, Japan and Indonesia must be among Obama’s priorities, but many others will clamor for him to visit their capitals. Clinton and the US administration would do well to decide which requests are merely photo ops and confine these to meetings at the sidelines of APEC. The US should insist on a substantive agenda as a precondition for any Obama visit. In China, for example, Clinton successfully established an agenda for the two countries to work together on climate change. Plans and resources must now be prepared.
Clinton has reopened the doors for Obama in Asia with charm and confidence. Obama will eventually come to Asia with many high expectations and star billing. While his charisma and openness to dialogue will be sought after, substance will also be measured and much needed.
By November, after all, it will be more than a year since the global crisis began in the US, and Obama and his team must show tangible prospects for recovery. US leadership — globally and in Asia — can no longer be presumed. It must be earned.
Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and a fellow of the Asia Society.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has laid the groundwork. Now it’s up to the president to deliver on US leadership in the region
By Simon Tay - Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009, Page 9
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to travel to Asia again this month to meet foreign ministers at the ASEAN Regional Forum, and to visit India.
On her first Asian trip in February, she provided a welcome contrast to the past with her openness to others’ views, her willingness to cooperate and her star power. She made Asians look at the US anew.
But this trip will be trickier. One challenge is that part of the plot for the US and Clinton is being written by others. North Korea will be on the agenda after conducting its missile tests, as will Myanmar, since its generals persist in prosecuting Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s most famous political detainee, on trivial charges.
After all that has happened in recent weeks, the definition of “success” must be set low. Nothing positive will come from the US condemning these two difficult regimes unilaterally. So a key goal of Clinton’s visit must be to pull together with the Asian leaders present at the ASEAN Regional Forum.
As for Myanmar, its neighbors and fellow ASEAN members — Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand — are also concerned about Suu Kyi’s continued prosecution. The US should begin to work with these countries not only on this matter, but also on the elections that Myanmar military junta has promised for 2010. Together, they should press for assurances of a free and fair process, with the aim of avoiding the kind of mess that followed the Iranian elections.
Indonesia can be one ally. After decades of autocracy, this vast archipelago of a country just concluded a presidential election that has solidified its transition to democracy. India, proud of its long-standing democracy and fresh from its own elections, shares a border with Myanmar and can also assist efforts there.
The approach to North Korea is similar. Kim Jong-il is a naughty boy who wants attention and incentives to behave decently. Rather than debate with her counterparts, Clinton needs to ensure that other countries in the six-party framework, especially China and South Korea, are on the same page as the US.
On both issues, there is little capacity to exert force or sufficient pressure for solutions any time soon. So diplomatic efforts must instead aim to join Americans and like-minded Asians in common cause, to push for steps forward in the medium to longer term. Others must be brought on board, especially the Regional Forum hosts, ASEAN and Thailand.
A moral community should form in Asia, one that displaces its leaders’ usual cynical calculations of power in order to jump on the right bandwagon.
In all this, China is the 800-pound dragon in the room. China is already closer to ASEAN and a key player with respect to Myanmar, North Korea and other sticky issues. A “bamboo” economic zone appears to be emerging, perhaps to replace today’s weakening US-centric trans-Pacific ties.
This is the context for Clinton’s visit to India, as well. Former US president George W. Bush’s administration should be credited for giving overdue recognition to India, but this was done primarily on a bilateral basis. The US should now leverage that relationship to work on regional and even global issues.
Besides her own work, Clinton is likely to also be inundated during this visit with requests concerning President Barack Obama. There is still no confirmation of when Obama will visit Asia, though many expect that he will attend the APEC summit to be held in Singapore in November.
China, Japan and Indonesia must be among Obama’s priorities, but many others will clamor for him to visit their capitals. Clinton and the US administration would do well to decide which requests are merely photo ops and confine these to meetings at the sidelines of APEC. The US should insist on a substantive agenda as a precondition for any Obama visit. In China, for example, Clinton successfully established an agenda for the two countries to work together on climate change. Plans and resources must now be prepared.
Clinton has reopened the doors for Obama in Asia with charm and confidence. Obama will eventually come to Asia with many high expectations and star billing. While his charisma and openness to dialogue will be sought after, substance will also be measured and much needed.
By November, after all, it will be more than a year since the global crisis began in the US, and Obama and his team must show tangible prospects for recovery. US leadership — globally and in Asia — can no longer be presumed. It must be earned.
Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and a fellow of the Asia Society.
*****************************************************
Eu Business - EU to toughen Myanmar sanctions if Suu Kyi found guilty: diplomat
17 July 2009, 15:43 CET
(BANGKOK) - A British diplomat Friday said the European Union would likely toughen sanctions on Myanmar's military regime if pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty at her ongoing trial.
The Nobel peace laureate is being held at a guesthouse on the grounds of Yangon's notorious Insein prison as her trial on charges of violating her house arrest nears its end after a final witness was heard last week.
Asif Ahmad, Southeast Asia head for the British foreign office, told AFP that diplomats expected Aung San Suu Kyi to be found guilty over the incident in May when an American man swam to her lakeside house uninvited.
He said if that was the case, once any appeal had been exhausted, the EU would slap further measures on the junta to signal its disapproval.
"Financial sanctions have been certainly at the forefront of what we would be doing," Ahmad said.
"If the final sentence is anything other than her being free... Looser chains are not acceptable, she has to be free," he said.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy's (NLD) landslide victory in elections in 1990.
The EU's current sanctions -- in place since 1996 -- include a travel ban and the freezing of assets of Myanmar's leaders and their relatives, as well as a ban on arms exports to the country.
The sanctions also limit diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian nation and the European bloc.
Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi met her lawyers for two hours Friday to discuss final arguments in the court case, and protested at the treatment she said she was receiving at the hands of authorities.
"She said that, as trespassing is entering by breaking through security and... no action has been taken so far against any security officials, it was one-sided," her lawyer Nyan Win told AFP, adding however that she did not want any security guards to be targeted.
17 July 2009, 15:43 CET
(BANGKOK) - A British diplomat Friday said the European Union would likely toughen sanctions on Myanmar's military regime if pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty at her ongoing trial.
The Nobel peace laureate is being held at a guesthouse on the grounds of Yangon's notorious Insein prison as her trial on charges of violating her house arrest nears its end after a final witness was heard last week.
Asif Ahmad, Southeast Asia head for the British foreign office, told AFP that diplomats expected Aung San Suu Kyi to be found guilty over the incident in May when an American man swam to her lakeside house uninvited.
He said if that was the case, once any appeal had been exhausted, the EU would slap further measures on the junta to signal its disapproval.
"Financial sanctions have been certainly at the forefront of what we would be doing," Ahmad said.
"If the final sentence is anything other than her being free... Looser chains are not acceptable, she has to be free," he said.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy's (NLD) landslide victory in elections in 1990.
The EU's current sanctions -- in place since 1996 -- include a travel ban and the freezing of assets of Myanmar's leaders and their relatives, as well as a ban on arms exports to the country.
The sanctions also limit diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian nation and the European bloc.
Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi met her lawyers for two hours Friday to discuss final arguments in the court case, and protested at the treatment she said she was receiving at the hands of authorities.
"She said that, as trespassing is entering by breaking through security and... no action has been taken so far against any security officials, it was one-sided," her lawyer Nyan Win told AFP, adding however that she did not want any security guards to be targeted.
*****************************************************
SAARC Ambassadors Club inaugurated in Myanmar
Published by editor Myanmar, News Jul 17, 2009
Colombo, 17 July, (Asiantribune.com): SAARC Ambassador’s Club was inaugurated in keeping with the SAARC tradition, at a meeting, convened by Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar, Mr. Newton Gunaratna at the Ambassador’s residence.Addressing the Ambassadors, Mr. Gunaratna briefed them on the progress made by SAARC Secretariat after Sri Lanka assumed the Chair at the 15th SAARC Summit held in Sri Lanka last year and also proposed an action plan.
Accordingly, measures will be taken to organize a “Film Festival of SAARC Countries” and “Art and Handicraft Exhibition” in the near future after consultation with the home countries of the Ambassadors.
Published by editor Myanmar, News Jul 17, 2009
Colombo, 17 July, (Asiantribune.com): SAARC Ambassador’s Club was inaugurated in keeping with the SAARC tradition, at a meeting, convened by Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar, Mr. Newton Gunaratna at the Ambassador’s residence.Addressing the Ambassadors, Mr. Gunaratna briefed them on the progress made by SAARC Secretariat after Sri Lanka assumed the Chair at the 15th SAARC Summit held in Sri Lanka last year and also proposed an action plan.
Accordingly, measures will be taken to organize a “Film Festival of SAARC Countries” and “Art and Handicraft Exhibition” in the near future after consultation with the home countries of the Ambassadors.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Clinton’s Burma Agenda
By AUNG ZAW, Friday, July 17, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made no mention of Burma in her foreign policy speech in Washington this week, but she renewed the US offer to talk with the Iranian regime—but the offer and opportunity would not remain indefinitely, she warned.
Clinton is on her way to Asia—this is her second trip—to attend the 42th Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phuket. Whether she wants it or not, the Burma and North Korea issues will likely dominate the meeting. Clinton, who said she was deeply troubled by the decision by the Burmese regime to charge Suu Kyi with a baseless crime, is not unprepared to speak on the Burma issue, but a US policy review on Burma that began in February is still pending.
During her first trip to Jakarta, Clinton said, “Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta.” Then she added that the policy adopted by neighboring countries of “reaching out and trying to engage them has not influenced them, either.”
The policy review on Burma is still pending, with the Obama administration wanting to take a different policy direction on Burma from the previous Bush administration. The new policy will probably be a mix of carrots and sticks, but recent events have complicated apparent indications favoring increased diplomacy and outreach from Washington towards Burma’s rulers.
“The recent events with Aung San Suu Kyi are just deeply, deeply concerning, and it makes it very difficult going forward,” said Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs told US lawmakers during his confirmation hearing last month.
“We're in the midst of a very sensitive review,” he said. “We are looking at the situation of the trial and what the junta is considering going forward. It will play into our review.”
If Suu Kyi’s bizarre trial has played a role in the policy review—other sensitive issues include the release of 2,100 political prisoners, the relationship with ethnic groups along the Burmese border with China and Thailand, and the upcoming election in 2010—then no doubt the issue of Burma’s shady relationship with North Korea will also play a part.
Though Washington’s policy review remains incomplete, the US is not without a policy and diplomatic tools. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Scot Marciel, assured that Clinton would bring up the issue of Burma during the meeting with Asean foreign ministers.
“I don't want to try to predict exactly what she's [Clinton] going to say. I'm confident that she will raise Burma and express our concerns quite clearly,” Marciel said.
“The fundamental policy remains the same, which is to do whatever we can to try to encourage progress in Burma,” he said.
“By progress, I mean the beginning of a dialogue between the government and the opposition and the ethnic minority groups, release of political prisoners and improved governance and, we would hope, more of an opening to the international community,” he said.
Since the trial began in May, the international pressure on Burma has been sustained. The military leaders, diplomats believed, were shocked at the swift and unified reaction from the international community, including Asean and China. As things stand at the moment, the bizarre trial that appeared to be progressing fast in its initial stages has slowed down—perhaps this is a sign that the junta is having second thoughts.
The Burmese leaders received two separate high level visits: one led by Singapore’s senior minister Goh Chok Tong and the other from UN chief Ban Ki-moon. They both delivered a firm message to the regime leaders to make significant progress in national reconciliation.
The regime showed its uncompromising stance when meeting visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who was not allowed to meet Suu Kyi. However, Ban did speak out for the need for an inclusive road map towards democracy, the release of political prisoners and for free and fair elections. Though he left empty-handed, his public remarks gained him kudos in Burma.
In a nutshell, the US is likely to search for more effective ways to encourage dialogue between the military, the opposition and the ethnic nationalities, and to gain the release of political prisoners and make steps towards broad-based reform. It will not be surprising to see more engagement by US officials and diplomats with the regime if the doors are opened.
Critics of US policy on Burma argue that sanctions are a failure, saying that they have only helped entrench the junta’s power, helping it to isolate its people from the outside world.
Nevertheless, to the surprise of many, many Burmese living inside the country (predictably, the Burmese community in exile support the sanctions policy) have expressed support for sanctions that punish the regime leaders.
Though the administration of President Barack Obama is seen to be intent on setting a different course from the Bush administration, such will require considerable creativity, particularly when dealing with rogue regimes like North Korea and Burma.
Referring to Iran, meanwhile, Clinton argued that a policy of engagement was not a sign of weakness. However, Burma’s neighbors who have been strong advocates of “constructive engagement” can only point to a decade of failure. Burma is a tough nut to crack.
By AUNG ZAW, Friday, July 17, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made no mention of Burma in her foreign policy speech in Washington this week, but she renewed the US offer to talk with the Iranian regime—but the offer and opportunity would not remain indefinitely, she warned.
Clinton is on her way to Asia—this is her second trip—to attend the 42th Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phuket. Whether she wants it or not, the Burma and North Korea issues will likely dominate the meeting. Clinton, who said she was deeply troubled by the decision by the Burmese regime to charge Suu Kyi with a baseless crime, is not unprepared to speak on the Burma issue, but a US policy review on Burma that began in February is still pending.
During her first trip to Jakarta, Clinton said, “Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta.” Then she added that the policy adopted by neighboring countries of “reaching out and trying to engage them has not influenced them, either.”
The policy review on Burma is still pending, with the Obama administration wanting to take a different policy direction on Burma from the previous Bush administration. The new policy will probably be a mix of carrots and sticks, but recent events have complicated apparent indications favoring increased diplomacy and outreach from Washington towards Burma’s rulers.
“The recent events with Aung San Suu Kyi are just deeply, deeply concerning, and it makes it very difficult going forward,” said Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs told US lawmakers during his confirmation hearing last month.
“We're in the midst of a very sensitive review,” he said. “We are looking at the situation of the trial and what the junta is considering going forward. It will play into our review.”
If Suu Kyi’s bizarre trial has played a role in the policy review—other sensitive issues include the release of 2,100 political prisoners, the relationship with ethnic groups along the Burmese border with China and Thailand, and the upcoming election in 2010—then no doubt the issue of Burma’s shady relationship with North Korea will also play a part.
Though Washington’s policy review remains incomplete, the US is not without a policy and diplomatic tools. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Scot Marciel, assured that Clinton would bring up the issue of Burma during the meeting with Asean foreign ministers.
“I don't want to try to predict exactly what she's [Clinton] going to say. I'm confident that she will raise Burma and express our concerns quite clearly,” Marciel said.
“The fundamental policy remains the same, which is to do whatever we can to try to encourage progress in Burma,” he said.
“By progress, I mean the beginning of a dialogue between the government and the opposition and the ethnic minority groups, release of political prisoners and improved governance and, we would hope, more of an opening to the international community,” he said.
Since the trial began in May, the international pressure on Burma has been sustained. The military leaders, diplomats believed, were shocked at the swift and unified reaction from the international community, including Asean and China. As things stand at the moment, the bizarre trial that appeared to be progressing fast in its initial stages has slowed down—perhaps this is a sign that the junta is having second thoughts.
The Burmese leaders received two separate high level visits: one led by Singapore’s senior minister Goh Chok Tong and the other from UN chief Ban Ki-moon. They both delivered a firm message to the regime leaders to make significant progress in national reconciliation.
The regime showed its uncompromising stance when meeting visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who was not allowed to meet Suu Kyi. However, Ban did speak out for the need for an inclusive road map towards democracy, the release of political prisoners and for free and fair elections. Though he left empty-handed, his public remarks gained him kudos in Burma.
In a nutshell, the US is likely to search for more effective ways to encourage dialogue between the military, the opposition and the ethnic nationalities, and to gain the release of political prisoners and make steps towards broad-based reform. It will not be surprising to see more engagement by US officials and diplomats with the regime if the doors are opened.
Critics of US policy on Burma argue that sanctions are a failure, saying that they have only helped entrench the junta’s power, helping it to isolate its people from the outside world.
Nevertheless, to the surprise of many, many Burmese living inside the country (predictably, the Burmese community in exile support the sanctions policy) have expressed support for sanctions that punish the regime leaders.
Though the administration of President Barack Obama is seen to be intent on setting a different course from the Bush administration, such will require considerable creativity, particularly when dealing with rogue regimes like North Korea and Burma.
Referring to Iran, meanwhile, Clinton argued that a policy of engagement was not a sign of weakness. However, Burma’s neighbors who have been strong advocates of “constructive engagement” can only point to a decade of failure. Burma is a tough nut to crack.
*****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - McCain Blasts Burma, Neighbors Ahead of Clinton Visit to Asia
By LALIT K JHA, Friday, July 17, 2009
WASHINGTON — on the eve of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s departure for India and Thailand, Senator John McCain urged her to push Burma’s neighbors to do more to support the cause of democracy in Burma.
McCain, who was the Republican candidate in last year’s US presidential election, also decried the Burmese junta’s decision to try opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on trumped-up charges.
“The junta’s latest actions are, once again, a desperate attempt by a decaying regime to stall freedom’s inevitable progress, in Burma and across Asia. They will fail as surely as Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaign for a free Burma will one day succeed,” McCain said on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
Noting that the US has a critical role to play as a powerful advocate of human rights, McCain added: “Nothing can relieve us of the responsibility to stand up for those whose human rights are in peril, nor of the knowledge that we stand for something in this world greater than self-interest.”
McCain was critical of Burma’s neighbors, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), for their failure to send a strong enough signal of solidarity with the Burmese people.
“The countries of Southeast Asia should be at the forefront of this call. Asean now has a human rights charter, in which member countries have committed to protect and promote human rights,” said McCain.
“Now is the time to live up to that commitment, and Asean could start by dispatching envoys to Rangoon in order to demand the immediate, unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added.
However, few people in Burma’s political opposition expect Asean to take a stronger stance against the regime.
“Asean acts like it is hitting a snake but doesn’t want to break its stick or kill the snake,” said Aye Thar Aung, a secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, using a Burmese proverb to describe Asean’s efforts to put pressure on the Burmese regime.
“If [Asean] really applied its charter, they could change Burma,” said Khin Maung Swe, a spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy. “We hope they will do it this time.”
Referring to a statement by Burma’s ambassador to the UN, Than Swe, that the regime is planning to grant an amnesty to a number of prisoners so they can participate in elections slated for next year, McCain said Asean should demand that this pledge include all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.
“Secretary of State Clinton will travel to Thailand later this month to participate in the Asean Regional Forum, and I urge her to take this up with her Southeast Asian colleagues,” McCain said.
Regarding the UN secretary-general’s recent visit to Burma, he said the ruling generals reacted in their typical fashion. “They stage managed Ban Ki-moon’s visit, even refusing his request to speak before a gathering of diplomats and humanitarian groups. Instead, before leaving, he was forced to speak at the regime’s drug elimination museum,” he said.
McCain also spoke out strongly in support of sanctions against the Burmese junta.
“It is incumbent on all those in the international community who care about human rights to respond to the junta’s outrages. This means renewing the sanctions that will expire this year, and it means vigorous enforcement by our Treasury Department of the targeted financial sanctions in place against regime leaders.
“And it means being perfectly clear that we stand on the side of freedom for the Burmese people, and against those who seek to abridge it,” McCain said.
Lawi Weng contributed to this article.
By LALIT K JHA, Friday, July 17, 2009
WASHINGTON — on the eve of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s departure for India and Thailand, Senator John McCain urged her to push Burma’s neighbors to do more to support the cause of democracy in Burma.
McCain, who was the Republican candidate in last year’s US presidential election, also decried the Burmese junta’s decision to try opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on trumped-up charges.
“The junta’s latest actions are, once again, a desperate attempt by a decaying regime to stall freedom’s inevitable progress, in Burma and across Asia. They will fail as surely as Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaign for a free Burma will one day succeed,” McCain said on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
Noting that the US has a critical role to play as a powerful advocate of human rights, McCain added: “Nothing can relieve us of the responsibility to stand up for those whose human rights are in peril, nor of the knowledge that we stand for something in this world greater than self-interest.”
McCain was critical of Burma’s neighbors, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), for their failure to send a strong enough signal of solidarity with the Burmese people.
“The countries of Southeast Asia should be at the forefront of this call. Asean now has a human rights charter, in which member countries have committed to protect and promote human rights,” said McCain.
“Now is the time to live up to that commitment, and Asean could start by dispatching envoys to Rangoon in order to demand the immediate, unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added.
However, few people in Burma’s political opposition expect Asean to take a stronger stance against the regime.
“Asean acts like it is hitting a snake but doesn’t want to break its stick or kill the snake,” said Aye Thar Aung, a secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, using a Burmese proverb to describe Asean’s efforts to put pressure on the Burmese regime.
“If [Asean] really applied its charter, they could change Burma,” said Khin Maung Swe, a spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy. “We hope they will do it this time.”
Referring to a statement by Burma’s ambassador to the UN, Than Swe, that the regime is planning to grant an amnesty to a number of prisoners so they can participate in elections slated for next year, McCain said Asean should demand that this pledge include all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.
“Secretary of State Clinton will travel to Thailand later this month to participate in the Asean Regional Forum, and I urge her to take this up with her Southeast Asian colleagues,” McCain said.
Regarding the UN secretary-general’s recent visit to Burma, he said the ruling generals reacted in their typical fashion. “They stage managed Ban Ki-moon’s visit, even refusing his request to speak before a gathering of diplomats and humanitarian groups. Instead, before leaving, he was forced to speak at the regime’s drug elimination museum,” he said.
McCain also spoke out strongly in support of sanctions against the Burmese junta.
“It is incumbent on all those in the international community who care about human rights to respond to the junta’s outrages. This means renewing the sanctions that will expire this year, and it means vigorous enforcement by our Treasury Department of the targeted financial sanctions in place against regime leaders.
“And it means being perfectly clear that we stand on the side of freedom for the Burmese people, and against those who seek to abridge it,” McCain said.
Lawi Weng contributed to this article.
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The Irrawaddy - Tunnel Troops’ Families Look to Occult for Help
Friday, July 17, 2009
Astrologers and soothsayers in Burma are reportedly being consulted by an increasing number of people who haven’t heard for months from family members of the Burmese army’s Electrical and Mechanical Engineering section working on the regime’s tunnel construction projects.
Some are practicing yadaya, or magic rites, in the hope that family members involved in the projects return home soon and unscathed.
Superstitious Burmese commonly practice yadaya to ward off misfortune or to bring good luck.
Concern about the fate of officers and soldiers assigned to the tunnel projects has grown following publication of reports about the secret work.
Several photographs of a tunnel construction site were posted on news Web sites in recent weeks, including the Democratic Voice of Burma, Yale Global online and The Irrawaddy, and have subsequently been circulating widely in Burma. The photographs and video material came from a number of sources, including the Burmese military and Burmese activists.
Family members are reportedly worried that after the completion of the secret tunnel-construction project, the regime may not want the officers and soldiers involved to communicate with the public.
A well-connected Burmese editor based in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that some of the projects are almost complete and at an “important stage.” He believed that the regime won’t allow soldiers and officers who belong to the engineering force to return home this time.
An astrologer who provided yadaya advice to some family members told The Irrawaddy that a group of female karaoke singers is often brought to Naypyidaw to entertain the officers and soldiers.
The astrologer said that his clients included some family members who had visited Naypyidaw to try and meet soldiers and officers from the engineering department.
“They have seen some tunnels near Naypyidaw and they also heard the sound of testing missiles that misfired,” he said. “They come and see me to get an advice of how to get out of the tunnel project.”
According to a MoU signed between Burma and North Korea in November 2008, Burma plans to build with North Korean technical assistance a military headquarters facility with a maze of underground tunnels around Naypyidaw, the country’s remote capital.
The government is also believed to be building underground silos to house anti-aircraft missiles, radar equipment and other military installations.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Astrologers and soothsayers in Burma are reportedly being consulted by an increasing number of people who haven’t heard for months from family members of the Burmese army’s Electrical and Mechanical Engineering section working on the regime’s tunnel construction projects.
Some are practicing yadaya, or magic rites, in the hope that family members involved in the projects return home soon and unscathed.
Superstitious Burmese commonly practice yadaya to ward off misfortune or to bring good luck.
Concern about the fate of officers and soldiers assigned to the tunnel projects has grown following publication of reports about the secret work.
Several photographs of a tunnel construction site were posted on news Web sites in recent weeks, including the Democratic Voice of Burma, Yale Global online and The Irrawaddy, and have subsequently been circulating widely in Burma. The photographs and video material came from a number of sources, including the Burmese military and Burmese activists.
Family members are reportedly worried that after the completion of the secret tunnel-construction project, the regime may not want the officers and soldiers involved to communicate with the public.
A well-connected Burmese editor based in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that some of the projects are almost complete and at an “important stage.” He believed that the regime won’t allow soldiers and officers who belong to the engineering force to return home this time.
An astrologer who provided yadaya advice to some family members told The Irrawaddy that a group of female karaoke singers is often brought to Naypyidaw to entertain the officers and soldiers.
The astrologer said that his clients included some family members who had visited Naypyidaw to try and meet soldiers and officers from the engineering department.
“They have seen some tunnels near Naypyidaw and they also heard the sound of testing missiles that misfired,” he said. “They come and see me to get an advice of how to get out of the tunnel project.”
According to a MoU signed between Burma and North Korea in November 2008, Burma plans to build with North Korean technical assistance a military headquarters facility with a maze of underground tunnels around Naypyidaw, the country’s remote capital.
The government is also believed to be building underground silos to house anti-aircraft missiles, radar equipment and other military installations.
*****************************************************
Mizzima News - Ten children die of dengue in north-western Burma
by Salai Pi Pi
Friday, 17 July 2009 19:15
New Delhi (Mizzima) – At least 10 children have died and several are ill after being afflicted by Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, in Kalemyo a town near the Indo-Burma border in Sagaing Division, north-western Burma, an official at a private clinic said.
“As far as I know at least 10 children have died. A lot of other children are admitted in the hospital, which is crowded with patients,” the official in Thapyaynyo clinic in Kalemyo said.
When contacted, an official at the Kalemyo General Hospital on Friday said, the ‘Patient Ward’ of the hospital is full of children being treated for Dengue haemorrhagic fever.
The outbreak of Dengue was noticed in Kalemyo in the beginning of June and has been continuing since.
A local resident of Kalemyo told Mizzima that most of the children in her neighborhood are suffering from the disease. While many have been taken to hospital several others are depending on private clinics.
Dengue in Kalemyo, a town located on the border of Chin state in western Burma, is common during the monsoons.
Local residents said, despite being a curable disease, Malaria and Typhoid continue to claim several lives every year.
by Salai Pi Pi
Friday, 17 July 2009 19:15
New Delhi (Mizzima) – At least 10 children have died and several are ill after being afflicted by Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, in Kalemyo a town near the Indo-Burma border in Sagaing Division, north-western Burma, an official at a private clinic said.
“As far as I know at least 10 children have died. A lot of other children are admitted in the hospital, which is crowded with patients,” the official in Thapyaynyo clinic in Kalemyo said.
When contacted, an official at the Kalemyo General Hospital on Friday said, the ‘Patient Ward’ of the hospital is full of children being treated for Dengue haemorrhagic fever.
The outbreak of Dengue was noticed in Kalemyo in the beginning of June and has been continuing since.
A local resident of Kalemyo told Mizzima that most of the children in her neighborhood are suffering from the disease. While many have been taken to hospital several others are depending on private clinics.
Dengue in Kalemyo, a town located on the border of Chin state in western Burma, is common during the monsoons.
Local residents said, despite being a curable disease, Malaria and Typhoid continue to claim several lives every year.
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Mizzima News - Aung San Suu Kyi meets lawyers to discuss final stages of trial
by Phanida
Friday, 17 July 2009 22:12
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi met her legal team on Friday, to discuss the final arguments of her trial in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison.
The authorities allowed Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers Nyan Win, Kyi Win, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe inside Insein prison, where they had parleys on the final arguments to be submitted to the District Court on July 24. They discussed the legalities for over two hours.
“We discussed the second draft of our final argument and decided on areas to delete or modify,” Nyan Win, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team told Mizzima.
He said they had drafted a 23-page final argument to be submitted in court in defense of the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate.
Aung San Suu Kyi said the charges against her were unacceptable as no security personnel had been arrested for dereliction of duty for they could not deter and detect the intrusion in a high security area, by an American man John William Yettaw, Nyan Win quoted her as saying.
The Burmese pro-democracy leader was charged and put on trial for violating her detention rules by ‘harbouring’ Yettaw, who swam across the Inya Lake and secretly entered her lakeside home in early May 2009.
Nyan Win said the health of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her two live-in party mates - Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Pa Pa - is fine.
On July 10, the special court in Insein Prison heard the testimony of Khin Moe Moe, the second defence witness of Aung San Suu Kyi and fixed the hearing of the final argument for July 24.
In her testimony, Khin Moe Moe said that since Burma’s 1974 Constitution is no longer in force, the Burmese democracy icon cannot be charged and prosecuted by the law defined in the 1974 Constitution.
However, the prosecution defended that though the regime has been changed, the 1974 constitution is still in force.
The police acted as prosecutor against Aung San Suu Kyi and filed a case against her for flouting her detention law. If found guilty, she could be sentenced up to 5 years in prison.
However, critics said the ruling military junta had used the case as a pretext to explore a method to continue her detention, as her detention period expired on May 27.
International and domestic legal experts said, as the Burmese law only provides a maximum of five years of consecutive detention, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was last arrested and detained in May 2003, has completed her term and that the junta is violating its own law.
The junta, however, said Aung San Suu Kyi is yet to complete her detention period and that could still be extended to another six months. The junta announced that on humanitarian grounds and as she is the daughter of General Aung San, Burma’s Independence architect, they have terminated her house arrest period.
Meanwhile, the Nobel Peace Laureate is still being kept under detention with the new excuse that she is currently facing trial.
by Phanida
Friday, 17 July 2009 22:12
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burma’s democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi met her legal team on Friday, to discuss the final arguments of her trial in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison.
The authorities allowed Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers Nyan Win, Kyi Win, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe inside Insein prison, where they had parleys on the final arguments to be submitted to the District Court on July 24. They discussed the legalities for over two hours.
“We discussed the second draft of our final argument and decided on areas to delete or modify,” Nyan Win, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team told Mizzima.
He said they had drafted a 23-page final argument to be submitted in court in defense of the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate.
Aung San Suu Kyi said the charges against her were unacceptable as no security personnel had been arrested for dereliction of duty for they could not deter and detect the intrusion in a high security area, by an American man John William Yettaw, Nyan Win quoted her as saying.
The Burmese pro-democracy leader was charged and put on trial for violating her detention rules by ‘harbouring’ Yettaw, who swam across the Inya Lake and secretly entered her lakeside home in early May 2009.
Nyan Win said the health of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her two live-in party mates - Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Pa Pa - is fine.
On July 10, the special court in Insein Prison heard the testimony of Khin Moe Moe, the second defence witness of Aung San Suu Kyi and fixed the hearing of the final argument for July 24.
In her testimony, Khin Moe Moe said that since Burma’s 1974 Constitution is no longer in force, the Burmese democracy icon cannot be charged and prosecuted by the law defined in the 1974 Constitution.
However, the prosecution defended that though the regime has been changed, the 1974 constitution is still in force.
The police acted as prosecutor against Aung San Suu Kyi and filed a case against her for flouting her detention law. If found guilty, she could be sentenced up to 5 years in prison.
However, critics said the ruling military junta had used the case as a pretext to explore a method to continue her detention, as her detention period expired on May 27.
International and domestic legal experts said, as the Burmese law only provides a maximum of five years of consecutive detention, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was last arrested and detained in May 2003, has completed her term and that the junta is violating its own law.
The junta, however, said Aung San Suu Kyi is yet to complete her detention period and that could still be extended to another six months. The junta announced that on humanitarian grounds and as she is the daughter of General Aung San, Burma’s Independence architect, they have terminated her house arrest period.
Meanwhile, the Nobel Peace Laureate is still being kept under detention with the new excuse that she is currently facing trial.
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DVB News - Soaring investment in Burma 'could hurt' population
July 17, 2009 (DVB)–Foreign investment in Burma has soared in the past year, with China’s ramped up economic interest in the country accounting for the majority of the rise, said a Burmese government report yesterday.
According to the report, released by the Ministry of Planning and Development, investment leaped from $US172.7 million in the 2007/08 fiscal year to $US984.9m.
The ministry announced that 87 percent of the total investment had come from China, with the majority of its investment focused on the extractive sector.
Reports show that small Chinese companies are focusing on Burma’s hydropower, mining and oil industries.
Economic analysts are concerned however that the extra investment will have no valued impact on the economy as Chinese companies attempt to yield quick results.
Burma expert and economist Sean Turnell, from Macquarie University in Australia, said that the Burmese economy is too risky for investment in infrastructure sectors, with the level of poverty in Burma so extensive that there is no attraction to consumer sectors.
“Burma attracts wild cat companies who come in and out to make dirty money,” said Turnell.
“Burma is at the grip of a resource curse; the extra investment will help the generals stay in power but will not benefit the local people.”
Environmental groups are also concerned that the increased investment will further worsen human rights violations occurring as a result of the resource extraction project.
It is believed that a large chunk of the investment will be going to build the Shwe Gas fields over the coming years.
Spokespeson for anti-pipeline campaign group Shwe Gas Movement, Win Aung, believes that the extra investment from China is only adding to the difficult situation that many people in Arakan state, where the pipeline will begin, already face.
A significant proportion of the Arakan population rely on fishing, and in times of gas or oil exploration, the government often cuts off fishing areas.
“Fishermen are restrained from fishing so they are unable to feed their families,” said Win Aung.
“Military battalions are sent into protect the construction and they create many problems as they confiscate land.
“The government should be directing foreign investment into education and health so the people of Burma will benefit in the future”.
Reporting by Alex Ellgee
July 17, 2009 (DVB)–Foreign investment in Burma has soared in the past year, with China’s ramped up economic interest in the country accounting for the majority of the rise, said a Burmese government report yesterday.
According to the report, released by the Ministry of Planning and Development, investment leaped from $US172.7 million in the 2007/08 fiscal year to $US984.9m.
The ministry announced that 87 percent of the total investment had come from China, with the majority of its investment focused on the extractive sector.
Reports show that small Chinese companies are focusing on Burma’s hydropower, mining and oil industries.
Economic analysts are concerned however that the extra investment will have no valued impact on the economy as Chinese companies attempt to yield quick results.
Burma expert and economist Sean Turnell, from Macquarie University in Australia, said that the Burmese economy is too risky for investment in infrastructure sectors, with the level of poverty in Burma so extensive that there is no attraction to consumer sectors.
“Burma attracts wild cat companies who come in and out to make dirty money,” said Turnell.
“Burma is at the grip of a resource curse; the extra investment will help the generals stay in power but will not benefit the local people.”
Environmental groups are also concerned that the increased investment will further worsen human rights violations occurring as a result of the resource extraction project.
It is believed that a large chunk of the investment will be going to build the Shwe Gas fields over the coming years.
Spokespeson for anti-pipeline campaign group Shwe Gas Movement, Win Aung, believes that the extra investment from China is only adding to the difficult situation that many people in Arakan state, where the pipeline will begin, already face.
A significant proportion of the Arakan population rely on fishing, and in times of gas or oil exploration, the government often cuts off fishing areas.
“Fishermen are restrained from fishing so they are unable to feed their families,” said Win Aung.
“Military battalions are sent into protect the construction and they create many problems as they confiscate land.
“The government should be directing foreign investment into education and health so the people of Burma will benefit in the future”.
Reporting by Alex Ellgee
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DVB News - ASEAN summit to tackle Burma stalemate
July 17, 2009 (DVB)–The intransigence of the Burmese government and the ongoing political crisis in the country will likely feature high on the agenda of the 42nd ASEAN summit beginning today in Thailand.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will next week arrive on the island of Phuket, which will play host to the week-long annual summit.
The US ambassador to ASEAN, Scot Marciel, told reporters on Wednesday that he “expects” Burma to feature in talks this week.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc has found itself in a predicament in recent months as two of its member nations, North Korea and Burma, have each drawn international condemnation over their respective internal problems.
The two countries featured side by side in news headlines last month as cooperation over weapons technology appeared to heighten, despite North Korea being subject to tough UN arms embargo.
Such behaviour could galvanise an ASEAN community normally reluctant to interfere in domestic problems of member countries.
According to Debbie Stothard, coordinator of advocacy network ALTSEAN-Burma, the development of advanced weaponry, including long-range missiles, makes Burma “more of a traditional threat to the region”.
Similarly, the thousands of refugees fleeing fighting in Burma into neighbouring countries have given Burma’s long-running internal conflict international ramifications.
Joining Clinton at the summit will be senior officials from China, Burma’s northern neighbour and strongest ally which has largely resisted any condemnation of the military government.
There is concern that China’s presence at the summit could outweigh any influence that the US can bring to discussions over tangible action to take on Burma.
But there have been suggestions lately that China’s confidence in its neighbour is waning following increasing unrest in the country which, if not tackled, says Stothard, could “hurt China very seriously”.
“Beijing is starting to understand that it is not in China’s national interests to allow the situation to deteriorate further in Burma,” she said.
“China needs stability in Burma and we can see that the Burmese government is creating more and more instability”.
Reporting by Francis Wade
July 17, 2009 (DVB)–The intransigence of the Burmese government and the ongoing political crisis in the country will likely feature high on the agenda of the 42nd ASEAN summit beginning today in Thailand.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will next week arrive on the island of Phuket, which will play host to the week-long annual summit.
The US ambassador to ASEAN, Scot Marciel, told reporters on Wednesday that he “expects” Burma to feature in talks this week.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc has found itself in a predicament in recent months as two of its member nations, North Korea and Burma, have each drawn international condemnation over their respective internal problems.
The two countries featured side by side in news headlines last month as cooperation over weapons technology appeared to heighten, despite North Korea being subject to tough UN arms embargo.
Such behaviour could galvanise an ASEAN community normally reluctant to interfere in domestic problems of member countries.
According to Debbie Stothard, coordinator of advocacy network ALTSEAN-Burma, the development of advanced weaponry, including long-range missiles, makes Burma “more of a traditional threat to the region”.
Similarly, the thousands of refugees fleeing fighting in Burma into neighbouring countries have given Burma’s long-running internal conflict international ramifications.
Joining Clinton at the summit will be senior officials from China, Burma’s northern neighbour and strongest ally which has largely resisted any condemnation of the military government.
There is concern that China’s presence at the summit could outweigh any influence that the US can bring to discussions over tangible action to take on Burma.
But there have been suggestions lately that China’s confidence in its neighbour is waning following increasing unrest in the country which, if not tackled, says Stothard, could “hurt China very seriously”.
“Beijing is starting to understand that it is not in China’s national interests to allow the situation to deteriorate further in Burma,” she said.
“China needs stability in Burma and we can see that the Burmese government is creating more and more instability”.
Reporting by Francis Wade
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